First Glimpse: Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

It must be Tokyo Auto Salon time because here I am, in the middle of the night, already sleep deprived, attempting to put a post together. Today has been a busy day of shooting feature cars, not to mention walking the halls of the Makuhari Messe to bring you a little teaser of what to expect from this year’s show.

I have joined forces with Mike and Sean who have flown over from the US, ready to snap away at the awesome selection of cars that await us. You can expect a very different type of coverage from the norm, with each one of us giving you our own take on it all, while concentrating on the main rides, trends and anything else that we will notice during the next few days.

But in the meantime, to whet your appetites, here is a little selection from today’s casual walk through the halls…

…as tuner and companies were putting the finishing touches to their own stands. As you can probably guess TAS 2013 will all be about the 86 with countless demonstration vehicles on display. Smoky at Top Secret has been busy putting his very own version together, sporting the ever popular 6666 Customs kit from TRA Kyoto and running a special turbo kit developed along with Trust. As far as I know this is the only 86 in Japan running an externally gated blower. More info to come on this car of course.

TAS is where the weird and the wonderful meet and I don’t even know how to begin to describe this pair of curiously modified,…

…bug-like FD3Ss I came across.

This roof chopped Beetle stood out like a sore thumb among all the Japanese rides in Hall 1…

…and while the work on the exterior was pretty impressive, it was its electric driveline that really surprised the most!

The manufacturer booths usually hold quite a few surprises and having previously heard that Nissan would be bringing the Delta Wing to Japan for the first time I just had to walk over for a quick look.

Over at Honda/Mugen there was the usual selection of mouthwatering Super GT cars like the GT500 HSV-101 GT and the GT300 CR-Z…

…but it had to be this widebody racing version of the new N-One Kei car that really put a smile on my face. The N-One has only been on sale for a month or so yet TAS was filled with plenty of customized versions!

TRD is full of surprises, and finally I was able to take a picture of their all new widebody 86 track car. I saw a prototype of this car testing at Tsukuba back in December but was not allowed to shoot or show pictures of it. I will have to find out more about this special car tomorrow!

Liberty Walk teamed up with Miura-san of TRA Kyoto once again to create this all new Aventador.

The car looks impossibly imposing up close, sporting the same brushed stainless steel wrap as the Murcielago.

It seems that every year the European car portion of the show continues to grow and there will be so many cars to check out from tomorrow. The Fab Design stand is by far the most impressive, rivaling manufacturers for size and execution. There you will find all sorts of exotica like this MP4-12C convertible.

The 458 Italia Challenge from Auto Veloce is yet another of Miura-san’s creations. The front…

…and rear bumper conversion is simply amazing, helping to give this race version of the Italia an even more aggressive appearance. Oh, and his signature wing seems to be a perfect fit too!

More Ferraris, and this time a triplet of red F40s all fitted with the Roberuta air cups that allow the nose to be lifted a few inches…

…so they can clear obstacles. Yes I drooled profusely.

VIP is always an important element of TAS and there will be so much to see in this scene, including a stretched Century I saw parked up in between two halls.

VIP has come such a long way, as this satin white RIP Design Fuga perfectly shows.

ST Garage are the masters of turning the Mark X into an even more awesome looking machine. I wonder if a 2JZ swap hides under the hood!

While I was checking out this Freedom Aristo…

…a certain Ferrari 456 appeared out of nowhere. I have been hearing lots of rumors about this car, built by a certain Daigo Saito and set up for drifting. Pretty interesting uh?

I’ll end this short preview with an image of the car that Sean and I shot this morning. The BenSopra 380SX will probably go down as one of the most important cars of this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, a car built specifically to be sent to Nardo in Italy in an attempt to set a high speed record. 400 km/h is the goal. More on this car and much, much more from tomorrow…

-Dino Dalle Carbonare

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1

Really looking forward to this & the Autosport coverage. My weekend is sorted!

2

Any chance of you guys making a stop by the Outerplus TiRacing and Bodyshop Kobayashi booth? *crossing fingers*

3

456 GT for drifting? Looking likr that? WOW!

4

GTR drivetrain in a light-weight 180SX body = Holy Shi....

5

At least that's my guess...

6

Midnight writing up a post?  man you guys are cranking things out already for 2013. sounds like you guys need some help, like a personal assistant ?  ;P

7

@FunctionFirst Annnnnnnd you got it! Thing looks scary

8

Is that a GTR conversion on a Datsun pickup? I am feeling that one!! Looks great, cant wait to see what else shows up

9

Gee Mike and Sean, I would've met y'all and LAX and flown over with ya... :)

10

Saito builds Ferrari for drift? Can't wait to see his actions. Only if it's real

12

Who made the kit for the Sunny Truck>>???? Rocky Auto???

13

I meet with a friend to discus our own projects every Thursday.
This week I'm just going to throw this iPad at him and tell him I'm done. TAS rises the bar in regards to well built projects all other again it seems.
I'm might take up knitting instead.

14

The copped bettle looked mint!
Are there any plans for coverage of the D1GP this year Dino? I was watching it on motors tv, and it looked insane at Ebisu!

15

looking forward to more info about saito's ferrari :)

16

Love the Hako truck, very interesting.

17

What is the white car behind the GT-R pick-up (?) and the FC3S (?), a modified Miata ? The rear end looks gorgeous.
And I want to hear more about that drifting 456GT. My wet dream have always some drift- or race-prepped 550 Maranello.

18

Could you guys get a couple shots of that old car next to the white FC RX-7 in the first picture? I'm curious to see what that is.

19

That TRD 86 with proper livery is outstanding.

20

Sick stuff boys. Snap some shots of that Mugen booth aye? ;)

21

I can't wait for a feature of LB Aventador

22

Why they've destroyed those poor RX7's? :(

23

@Censport I went the other way as I came from Sweden!

25

Wallpaper of the BenSopra 380sx plz !!!

26

@pesugob6 yes please, one that will work for stickers and tee shirts lol.

27

@Bathsalt Barry yep it's a sunitora

28

Kind of ironic that the FD RX-7, surely one of the most beautiful cars of all time, is subjected to so many tragically hideous interpretations.

29

poor FD's =(.:Automation Lighting:.
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30

That Datto 1200 with the GTR nose conversion looksWICKED!

31

Now if its got an RB motor nestled in there too...well!

32

the GT-R pick up certainly grabbed my interest as it did with a few others on here, feature please

33

And just when I was getting used to all of the cars that come out of Japan I see all of these...... Wow!

34

The Benspora 380sx. Does it have a VR38 or VQ37 punched out to 38. Just curious. Also the fd's are um..... well. i ll leave it at that.

35

Dam. Some of these cars really have my attention - Especially The Hakosuka-faced Datto pickup, the TRD 86 and the 380SX. However, some of those FD's are horrible.

36

Some really crazy stuff here...I absolutely love it!

37

i would love to see a modern n2 86 series with gt86 that would awesome

38

Love the 380sx but it aint going to make 400kmh - way too much frontal area and too many holes in the front.

39

this is what i look forward too all year

40

those two FD's are disgusting looking how can you f**k up a car that beautiful that bad. every other car in this thread is awesome though i'm so excited to see whats coming up for TAS coverage.

41

DINO PLEASE DO A FEATURE ON THE HAKOSUKA FRONT END UTE!!!!!

42

Fell in love with the TRD GT86.! Great shots Dino ;-)

43

Except this.. the rear spoiler has to go...... @Timos

44

That 456. Oh so gorgeous!

45

I can't wait to see some footage on Diago's 456. That TRD 86 widebody is F*in sweet. Can we get a feature, PLEASE !!

46

wait..380sx...vr38???

47

TRD 86 looks pretty sweet.
 
BUT THAT HAKOSUKA PICKUP CONVERSION IS BADASS! PLEASE FEATURE!

51
StephonFazalKhan

@TomHoward yeah

52
StephonFazalKhan

@TomHoward yeah

53
StephonFazalKhan

@TomHoward yeah

54

a sliding 456? i definitely want to see more of that :D

55

a sliding 456? i definitely want to see more of that :D

56

a sliding 456? i definitely want to see more of that :D

57

@RawrJjong I agree. The 456 is awesome

58

@RawrJjong I agree. The 456 is awesome

59

@RawrJjong I agree. The 456 is awesome

60

whoa...i just know that matte white can look good on camera

61

whoa...i just know that matte white can look good on camera

62

whoa...i just know that matte white can look good on camera

63

Meh on the 458. Just another aero pack for the 458 Challenge, which f.f. Corse and Evolution 2 already do a very good job of. Also, attaching an aero pack would make it ineligible for Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, and this car would get its ass handed to it in Asian Le Mans, GT Asia, and Super GT GT300. So its either..a) A car for time attack, b) A one off TAS show car which will get converted back to spec, or c) will compete in Super Taikyu/other minor events.

64

Meh on the 458. Just another aero pack for the 458 Challenge, which f.f. Corse and Evolution 2 already do a very good job of. Also, attaching an aero pack would make it ineligible for Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, and this car would get its ass handed to it in Asian Le Mans, GT Asia, and Super GT GT300. So its either..a) A car for time attack, b) A one off TAS show car which will get converted back to spec, or c) will compete in Super Taikyu/other minor events.

65

Meh on the 458. Just another aero pack for the 458 Challenge, which f.f. Corse and Evolution 2 already do a very good job of. Also, attaching an aero pack would make it ineligible for Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, and this car would get its ass handed to it in Asian Le Mans, GT Asia, and Super GT GT300. So its either..a) A car for time attack, b) A one off TAS show car which will get converted back to spec, or c) will compete in Super Taikyu/other minor events.

66

LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!! XD

67

LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!! XD

68

LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!! XD

69

@MikeDonnelly Agree!!

70

@MikeDonnelly Agree!!

71

@MikeDonnelly Agree!!

72

@MikeDonnelly AGREED!

73

Awesome stuff, can't wait to see more of the 380SX and that Hakosuka Pickup!!!

74

@MikeDonnelly AGREE!! And desktops, LOTS of desktops.

75

That new Honda N-One looks sweet! What's with those FD's though? Why do they gotta take something beautiful and make it ugly?!

76

@Timos Agree. I took a good look at it today (at the show)....and I will say that the car might even catch on fire. To say that the VR38 is crammed in it's an understatement. It's very well build (considering the very short time Miura put it together), but all the wiring, plumbing, fitting, everything is SUPER tight in there. Combining that with +1000hp (lots of heat)....it spells disaster.

77

@hanablemoore It runs the Skyline's VR38DETT.

78

I love these posts from Japan.  Damn I love this website!!!

79

@JDMized Thanks for clearing that up because i wasnt sure on that 1. Also how much is a VR38Dett( just the engine alone). This question is for anyone who can answer.

80

I keep thinking of Megatron everytime i see those fd's.   It looks like they got a picture of him in the middle of transforming. LOL.

81

Pls large photo of that white 180 in the end...

82

The bensopra 380sx wearing its livery is fkn crazy in person

83

The bensopra 380sx wearing its livery is fkn crazy in person

84

GTR fronted Datsun pickup is badass

85

GTR fronted Datsun pickup is badass

86

Last year I worshipped Nakai-san. This year, I'm going to worship Miura-san!

87

speaking of the drifting Ferrari 456, I wonder what happened to the 550 that was posted here some time ago?
http://www.speedhunters.com/2011/11/builds_gt_gt_an_insane_ferrari_550_drift_car/

88

wow, kei miura really has his fingers in all the pies.

89

Kei Miura everywhere!

90

Kei Miura everywhere!

91

Good day,

I was wondering if you can help me please,

I'm looking for a pcg10 front end conversion for a datsun 1200 pickup.

I'm in South Africa and can't find it here.

Thank you

Lehan

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